Library

Mrs. Debra LaPlante

Mrs. Debra LaPlantedlaplante@simonjude.org
Mrs. Debra LaPlante began teaching in 1978 and recently retired from the Alhambra School District where she was a teacher-librarian and Library Coordinator for the district for 14 years. She received her Master’s Degree in Library Science from the University of Arizona in 1999. She is also the co-director of the Central Arizona Writing Project at Arizona State University, writing and working with teachers in the summer. “I love words, books, and seeing students grow as they read and discover about the world and themselves through books. The technology we are using with students is exciting–a new way to bring learning and reading together. This is such a welcoming community. I love being here at SSJ.”

Mrs. Linda Mulligan

Mrs. Linda Mulliganlmulligan@simonjude.org
Mrs. Linda Mulligan has been teaching since 1983 and taught 2nd grade at SSJ from 1999 ’til 2010. She moved away for three short years, but continued subbing and helping out at SSJ whenever she was in town. Now we are blessed to have Mrs. Mulligan as one of our Librarians!

“This community helped me grow my kids, who are now building their own lives…I wanted to give back by helping to grow this community’s children.”

The School Library welcomes inquiries from parents. Parents may browse or check out books at their leisure.

Library Hours
The Library is open for students and parents between 7:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.
Parents must accompany students int he library prior to 7:30 a.m.

Book Check-Out Procedure
Students may check out books before school, at lunchtime, or during class library time.
All books must be returned or renewed after one week. Daily fines are incurred after one week.
For Grades K-1, the number of books allowed for checkout is left to the discretion of the teacher.
For Grades 2-8, students may check out a total of ten books.
Parents may also check out books for one week.

Library Book Use
Establish a special place at home for school library books. Keep these books separate from public library books and books you own.
Help your child be responsible and return books on time.
Overdue books incur a charge of 5 cents per day.
Proceeds from book fines supplement library resources.
Library privileges may be restricted if a student has excessive overdue books or fines.
At the end of each quarter, parents will be billed for any books not returned to the library.

Friends of the Library
Each student is invited to become an SSJ “Friend of the Library” during their birthday month. Students may purchase a specific book of their choice for the library and have it dedicated to a family member, their teacher or classroom. Students are recognized at the weekly Wednesday morning assemblies.

Parent Volunteers
Parents are welcome to volunteer in the library. Volunteers read to younger students during their Library period, clean and re-shelf books, and assist Librarians with other tasks. We also need many parent volunteers during our annual A.R. Promotion held in the Spring of each school year. This is a reading competition where students take a computerized quiz after reading a book to earn points or pages read toward personal and classroom goals.